Christmas at Our House
by deathcabforkira
Summary: Everyone celebrates Christmas in their own way, even the kids from Wammy's.  Rating is subject to change.
1. Matt

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Death Note, etc.**

There really wasn't much that I looked forward to in the winter. Except for snow. Oh, and Christmas, of course. I didn't really know anyone who didn't like Christmas. There was a huge Christmas tree in one of the biggest rooms on the main floor at Wammy's, in front of a giant window. That was probably my favorite part of winter. Roger would call us all down and try to get us to stay quiet while he attempted to explain to us what was about to take place. After he finally got around to telling us not to break anything, all of the kids would tear into the boxes and pull out shining ornaments, which we were all-too-happy to put on the tree. There were always so many of us, so it didn't take very long to finish decorating -especially not with out high level of enthusiasm, fueled by the rush of downing more sugar cookies than we should have eaten.

I remember the year that I was nine. I couldn't sleep that night, which wasn't surprising. It was Christmas Eve, after all. What kid in their right minds could get any sleep on Christmas Eve, anyway? For what seemed like years, I lay on my back in bed, waiting for either morning to come or a chance to fall asleep - whichever came first.

"Hey, Mels, are you awake?" I whispered, peering through the darkness at the bed on the other side of our shared room. Mello replied with a loud snore, which pretty much answered my question. How could he be asleep? It was _Christmas Eve night_! "Fine, I'll go without you, then," I grumbled, throwing back the blankets and sliding out of bed. The wooden floors were cold beneath my bare feet, but I didn't care. I began to navigate my way to the stairs. I'll admit, I was pretty stealthy for a nine-year-old. All those late-night trips to the refrigerator with Mello had certainly helped me get a good feel of what was where and which floorboards creaked when you stepped on them; the last thing I wanted was for Roger to catch me. As quietly as I could I made my way to the stairs at last (the floor on which my room was on, was the floor just above the one where the Christmas tree was), which I practically fell down as I stumbled over my own feet.

_My ninja skills just haven't kicked in yet, is all_, I told myself. I was very close now; I could see the faint glow of lights in the entryway.

And there it was: the greatest tree in the world, in all of its glory. It was strung with multi-colored lights, which gleamed off the reflective tinsel and the metallic ornaments. All sorts of colors bounced off of these decorations and onto the ceiling and floor. There was a huge, shining star at the top of the tree, which seemed to have captured all sorts of impossibly-beautiful colors and trapped them behind its glass exterior. Behind the tree, was the window. There was a gap between the thick curtains where I could see outside. It was snowing! A white Christmas…it couldn't get any better than that. My gaze strayed to all the packages under the tree, wrapped in shiny red and green paper. They had bows on them, too, and name tags. There were one for Linda, Near, Mello, BB- then I saw the one with my name on it. Childish desire over came me - I _was_ only a child, don't forget - I began reaching for the box. But something stopped me.

"Mail.." I must have jumped four feet in the air. Though quiet and monotone, it hadn't been expected at all. Only one person ever called me that anymore, besides Mels when he was mad at me…

"L..!" I turned to face said detective, his very name coming out as nothing more than a reverent whisper. He smiled at me, kindly and almost amused. My face flushed red at the realization that I was wearing only my Mario-themed boxers. L only chuckled light-heartedly.

"I won't tell Roger, if that's what worries you."

All I could think to say was, "Thank you." I simply stood and marveled at the world's greatest detective. He looked as if he had been trying to sleep, though I had heard a popular rumor that he never slept. His dark hair was ruffled and even more wild-looking than usual. His skin looked as white as the snow outside, his dark-rimed eyes studied me inquisitively, and his baggy pajamas looked all frumpy.

"You should go to sleep," he said.

I nodded. "Right…" I began to walk away, but not before I smiled and said, "Merry Christmas, sir."

"Merry Christmas to you, too."

I smiled to myself as I mounted the stairs. I had seen true kindness in L's eyes. There was still some human left in him, no matter what everyone else said. I just knew it.


	2. L

There was something about snow that I found fascinating. No…that isn't right. Not fascinating, but…_beautiful_. Yes, Beautiful. Intriguing. It was most likely because snow reminded me of slightly better days. Days when I was young and innocent and happy. From what Watari told me, it was snowing the night he found me. I wouldn't remember that, of course. I had been far too younger to even understand what was taking place. But, as far back as I _can_ remember, I had always loved snow. I used to stand at the window of my bedroom and watch as the snow fell from the cloud-laden sky. The ground was blanketed in icy, white beauty. Amazing, wonderful snow. We all used to play in the snow - all of the Wammy's kids. Snowball fights, igloos, snow angels-and then, once we couldn't feel out fingers we would come back inside and put on some dry clothes so we could drink hot chocolate. It was only a matter of time, though, before we went out into the snow again.

Everything was fine-until one year, when I was twelve years old. I had gone out into the snow, forgetting my coat and gloves and scarf; I was much too excited. I must have been out there for hours, oblivious to the numbing cold seeping through my clothes. After a while, it began snowing again. It didn't stop. It only got thicker as the wind blew harder. I was cold by then, and I wanted to go back. But I couldn't see through the snow.

I must have lost my consciousness out there, because I woke up in my bedroom. Watari said he found me quite a ways from the orphanage. I did not feel right, though. My head seemed light, and I felt sort of dizzy. I could not feel anything but cold, empty air around me. I lay beneath a mass of blankets, shivers racking my numb, limp body. I couldn't feel anything. Not the mattress on which I lay. Not the sheets which I clutched in my bluish hands. Worried, Watari had called for a physician. Every second seemed to drag by so slowly. I tried to focus on other things, but I just could not function. My mind was paralyzed with the fear of the unknown. As I waited, I lost all feeling in my hands and feet, though I did not really notice at first. When I did realize it, I was terrified. I tried to stand, but I merely crumpled helplessly to the ground. It took every ounce of strength left in me just to climb back into bed and wriggle beneath the blankets.

The doctor arrived and once he had finished the examination, he stepped outside to speak with Roger and Watari. The entire time, I dreaded what would come next. But no one could prevent the inevitable, and I knew that. Once the three of them re-entered the room, I received the news. I had hypothermia. The doctor said it may take a few days before I regained feeling in my extremities, but I wasn't going to die. To my panicked twelve-year-old mind, not dying was good enough for me. But, there was one problem. The doctor has said 'a few days'. That meant I would be spending Christmas in my bedroom. No opening presents with everyone else. I wouldn't be decorating the tree the night, either - we always decorated the tree on Christmas Eve. And I supposed I wouldn't be enjoying a nice Christmas dinner. I was nothing but disappointed as the heaviness of sleep overcame me at last.

When I finally opened my eyes, the room was mostly dark, with the exception of the soft glow from my lamp on the other side of the room. A hunched figure sat on the edge of my bed. The person turned their head to look at me, and I found myself staring into a familiar face. Skin as white as snow; hair as black as night; eyes as red as crimson; and a smile as sweet as the strawberry jam that he loved.

"B! What are you doing here?" I asked. Beyond Birthday grinned even more; I could tell he was trying not to tackle me, since excitement sometimes got the best of him.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to spend Christmas alone." He looked a little embarrassed, but perked up once he saw that I was smiling. "I brought you a Christmas tree!" He stood up and hurried off to the small table on which the lamp was. On the table was a tiny tree, strung with little bits of glittering tinsel. "It's not the best, but-"

"I love it. A lot." I was grinning now. I just couldn't help it.

"Y-you do?" he just seemed so thrilled to have made me happy.

"Of course."

He set a box on my bed, wrapped in shiny gold paper, a red bow on top. "And, since you can't come open presents with the rest of us, I brought this up for you." He pushed the box a little closer. "Open it up. ~ !"

"Alright, if you insist." My fingers still quite numb, I did my best to tear the paper from the box. It was not as difficult as I had expected, and within seconds, the box was unwrapped.. It was exactly what I had wanted: a box of assorted chocolates. A box this size seemed far too expensive for B to have been able to afford on his own. I was awestruck, to say the least. "Y-you didn't have to buy me anything, B. I…." I trailed off, smiling.

"But I did, and I'm glad I did." Smiling as well, he sat down on the bed beside me and pointed out the window across the room. Through a very slight gap in the curtains, I saw the gentle fall of snow flurries. "Look, it's snowing!"

"Yes, it is!"

We sat on my bed, eating chocolate and strawberry jam (my gift to B) and watching the snow.

"Merry Christmas, Lawlipop."

I don't think I could have smiled any wider. "Merry Christmas to you, too, B."

Despite my hypothermia, I had never felt so warm.

**A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I've been very busy over the holidays, but hopefully, I'll be able to catch up. Thanks for the reviews so far. They really keep me motivated (:**


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